One of the fastest growing areas of communications technology is related to automobile network solutions for voice communications, data transfers, and telematics services. An increasing number of mobile vehicles are being equipped with wireless communication devices, requiring unique, geographically specific mobile-phone identification numbers (MINs), i.e. telephone numbers, to be loaded and stored into a telematics unit in the vehicle. Because the final destination and owner of a vehicle are not always known, vehicle manufacturers and dealerships need more efficient ways for preparing a wireless communication device in a vehicle before delivery to the new owner. The process of loading location-dependent telephone numbers into the unit should be as efficient and uncomplicated as possible.
A digital wireless telephony mobile phone, whether separate from or embedded in the telematics unit, is typically shipped without a mobile identification number (MIN) or a geographic-specific mobile identification number (geo-MIN) programmed into the unit. The MIN is a phone number that identifies the embedded phone of the telematics unit within a wireless phone network. The MIN is required for a local wireless telephony service provider to properly address the cellular phone and for the mobile unit to register on the system in the home region or while roaming. Cellular phones may be configured and activated using over-the-air service provisioning (OTASP), a standard specified in
TIA/EIA/IS-683-A (1998), “Over-the-Air Service Provisioning of Mobile Stations in Spread Spectrum Systems.” The wireless telephony service provider may configure the cellular phone and the cellular network using OTASP. If an embedded phone in a telematics unit is to be programmed without OTASP, it may be done manually, with voice-recognition software, or with over-the-air functions. Manual programming requires knowledge on the part of the consumer or vendor representative to be able to manipulate the device and knowledge of the proper parameter values to program, and to converse with the wireless service provider for assigning an appropriate MIN and MDN (mobile directory number).
Because of the complexities in setting up network communications and instrument settings for any in-vehicle wireless communication unit, the business and information delivery methods among the vehicle and network device manufacturers, wireless carriers, telematics services call centers and vehicle dealerships would benefit from streamlining the process and making it nearly automatic.
The dealership has often been required to initialize the telematics unit, and sometimes this process of initializing is cumbersome, requiring more than a little time and effort for the dealership and owner to activate the unit, and resulting in time delays for configuring a telematics unit with a geographic-specific mobile identification number, preferred roaming lists, and other phone parameters. It may take upwards to 72 hours for a wireless carrier to be able to assign a phone number for the embedded phone of the telematics unit.
The vehicle assembly plant usually knows to which dealership a vehicle will be delivered and sometimes even the buyer, although it may not know or be able to obtain a geo-MIN or a suitable MDN for a specific unit. Furthermore, excessive charges may be incurred when loading a prescribed MIN into the telematics unit before the vehicle is sold and delivered. It would be advantageous for the telematics unit to be preprogrammed with configuration settings and information specific to the location of the dealership or future owner at the vehicle assembly plant, thereby speeding up the process of activating and configuring the telematics unit when it is delivered.
It is an object of this invention, therefore, to provide a system and method to configure an in-vehicle telematics unit in a more efficient and timely way that employs new configuration strategies and leverages newer networking capabilities among telematics service providers, vehicle dealerships and wireless service providers, and to overcome the challenges and obstacles described above.